Tag Archives: high school band

FMD: Played an instrument

I think we've talked about this before, but yesterday's guitar conversation got me thinking a little more about what other instruments people played, wished they could play, etc.

I played trumpet all through high school. I actually recently picked it up again (not to learn, just, literally, picked it up and played it for like 3 minutes). It is amazing how my fingers still knew which positions to go to - muscle memory after all these years. At the same time, my embouchure was completely atrophied, and was only strong enough to barely squeak out the range of a single scale.

How about you? What did you play? What would you like to play? When was the last time you picked up an instrument you used to play?

FMD 8/10/18: Brass

Let's talk about brass. Jazz, ska, swing, whatever genre. Songs that utilize it just a little bit, songs that embrace it. What do you like? What don't you like? Which trumpet player was the best? What's the best use of a french horn in cinema (Young Frankenstein, right?)? Does that 76th trombone really add anything that the 75th didn't? Etc.

I was a trumpet player in school, so brassy sounds are something that always resonated with me, and I don't think we've talked about instruments for a while, so it seemed like something worth throwing out there.

I used this version of "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" on my summer mix this year, specifically because of the brass:

Then drop your top 10s and have a wonderful Friday!